


Anakin Hawthorn: Moronsexual

by viveriveniversumvivusvici55



Series: The Care and Keeping of Moronsexuals [2]
Category: The Outer Worlds (Video Game)
Genre: Character with ADHD, F/M, Listening Intently as an Expression of Love, Post-Canon, Sibling Love, Two moronsexuals bonding, moronsexual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23978986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viveriveniversumvivusvici55/pseuds/viveriveniversumvivusvici55
Summary: Anakin Hawthorn's brother Teagan is a goddamn fucking dumbass. But a dumbass who managed to save the entire colony while also snagging a hot vicar as his partner, so maybe he's doing something right.At least he's got a beautiful idiot as a crewmember.....fuck.
Relationships: Felix Millstone/Original Female Character, Male Captain/Maximillian DeSoto
Series: The Care and Keeping of Moronsexuals [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1728808
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had to do a part two. I had to.
> 
> Anakin is heavily inspired by my friend's Hawke, Rosemary, who we often write as Teagan's sister. Thank you, Kora, for letting me corrupt your OC.

"We're going on an adventure!"

Anakin rolled her eyes at her brother, a fond expression on her face as she packed up the bags that they were allowed to take. "We're going right into an indenture contract, Teagan. That's not exactly an adventure."

"But it's in a new colony!" Teagan sat on the table, long legs kicking in the air. "Halcyon awaits!"

"You sound like the Board slogans."

"Watch your mouth."

Anakin grinned back at him, fondness in her brown eyes. He was always a good source of humor and optimism. They'd needed it - when their parents had died and drought had hit, their farm had been brought to ruin. Not even Teagan's work as a dirt farmer could coax life back to it. As their bits slowly dwindled away and they grew more and more desperate, well...joining a colony off in the stars was their last option. Maybe they could work off their debts.

"Annie, we'll be fine," he said softly. "Look, I know you're the brains out of the two of us. You worry more than I do. But we're gonna be okay. It's the two of us. You know we'll do alright."

She sighed. "Teag, we'll be corporate lackeys for the rest of our lives. Worse, _Spacer's Choice lackeys._ " Their noses wrinkled in unison. 

"What are our options? You said so yourself, it was this, starve, or be criminals for however long it takes for us to get arrested."

"I'd almost rather starve or get arrested," Anakin grumbled. She turned her back to him and, despite her words, kept packing.

There was the sound behind her of feet hitting the ground, followed by the touch of a large hand on her shoulder. "I don't want to leave Mum and Dad behind either. Or Carter and Bess."

And that was really it. The graves behind their house - very illegal graves, because this way they hadn't had to pay gravesite fees - loomed over her like a dark cloud. "It doesn't seem right."

"I think they'd get it. They wouldn't want to hold us back and you know it."

No, they wouldn't. 

"Come on, Annie, it's our best idea. We had it drunk; that has to mean it was a good idea."

She snorted loudly. "When we're up to our knees in saltuna guts in that fucking cannery, I'll tell you that you said that."

"And I'll still be right."

* * *

Her first moments awake are agony. Her veins are on fire as she coughs, stale air in her lungs not quite enough to scream. It fades as soon as she takes her first breath, her aching eyes settling once she blinks, her body easing as her heart pumps blood for the first time since she went into hibernation. It takes her a couple of moments to get her bearings, but the first thing she hears is a very familiar voice. 

_"Come on, Annie, rise and shine."_

If she didn't know better, she'd say that Teagan sounds worried. Her eyes open slowly and she turns to the voice. Sure enough, standing before her is her brother, grey eyes shining with tears, a relieved smile on his face. Strange, but she gives him a smile like big sisters do. "Enough with the waterworks, I'm fine," she manages, voice a bit hoarse.

With a sob, he sinks to his knees and wraps his arms around her. Her arms wrap around him, even as her eyes widen with a non-verbal _what the fuck is going on_ , and she rubs his back. "Hey, hey, Teag, Waffles, we're okay. We made it."

"I thought you'd never wake up," he sobs. "It's been so long, I thought-"

"Hawthorn, I told you that I had the process down. We can shake off seventy years of hibernation with ease with this compound." It's a voice that Anakin doesn't recognize, but the words sink in. She sits up abruptly, looking at her brother, even as a hand smooths over his back, and then at the man. It's an older man, wearing an old lab coat and spacewear, with a look that reminds her distinctly of the mad scientists she read about in old books. 

_What the **fuck?**_

"Teagan. What does he mean?" She says slowly.

He wipes his eyes and stands. "This...is gonna take a while. You good to walk?"

She wiggles her fingers and her toes slowly. "Yep. Yeah, I think I am." She'll do the goddamn cha-cha if it means she can get the information she needs to figure out what in Law's name is going on.

"Great. There's a cantina nearby and this is the sort of thing you always say goes best with a drink."

_Oh no._

She swings her legs off the bed and stands up, wobbling with the first step. As always, her little brother is there to catch her, helping as much as he always does. She wobbles for a moment, leaning on him heavily at first, and as she walks, she leans less and less. Perhaps she stands out in her hibernation suit, walking with a man covered in armour and with a frankly studded assault rifle on his hip - _what the **fuck Teagan** \- _but she doesn't care. She wants answers. Stat.

He buys the food and vodka, and as they wait, she sighs. "So, give me the summary."

"It's all a mess, Annie. Something happened, I dunno what, but it took us way longer to get here than it should have. The colony thought we didn't exist."

"WHAT?"

He raises his hands in surrender. "I said you'd need a drink for it."

The more he talks, the more the alcohol becomes necessary. She knows that Teagan isn't exactly the smartest tool in the shed, that he can be fooled as easily as he fools other people, but it all makes a horrible amount of sense. That they'd been knocked out of skip space. That the mad scientist, Dr. Welles, chose him out of everyone because he was most likely to do what he was told and get it done. That the Board had been covering up their disappearance, the lack of contact from Earth, and so much else as they slowly drove the colony to ruin. And there was her brother in the middle of it all, accidentally staging a coup just so that he could wake her up. By the time he finishes his story, Anakin has managed to eat a whole meal and drink two Zero Gee brews. Her fingers have almost fused with the bridge of her nose, pinching it as she tries to organize her thoughts, and she sighs.

"I gotta say that I'm impressed, Teagan. I didn't think you had this sort of 'espionage one-man army' thing down. A lowly dirt farmer saving a colony."

"First, I take defense to that."

She laughs. "Offense, Teagan. Offense."

He hums, but brushes it aside. "Second, I don't know what espionage means. It sounds like a cleaning product."

"Sneaky thief spy stuff."

"Why didn't you just say that?"

"It doesn't roll as nicely off the tongue."

"And third...is it third?" He taps on his fingers and nods. "Third, I wasn't alone. I got people to help me. I made friends, Annie."

Of course he did. Of all the worries that Anakin had had about coming to Halcyon, she'd known that her brother wouldn't be alone. He could make friends as easily as he breathed sometimes. All he needed to do was stand in one place, shining like the sun, offering to help someone, and he'd have a legion of people ready to follow him into anything. It sounded like he'd done the exact same thing here. That knowledge also helps her breathe a little bit easier. 

"I'm glad. Sounds like you were in a lot of fights. I'm glad there were people there to watch your back. And help you when you needed it to." _I'm so glad that you weren't alone._

"Yeah. They're good friends," Teagan smiles as he looks out the window towards a ship in the distance. It is sweet, but she knows her brother's avoidance tactics. He's looking away, and as she leans around to look at his face, she sees the red flush to his cheeks.

_No._

"Teagan." Her grin is wolfish.

"Anakin." He is still looking away, very intently staring out the window.

"Teagan Garrett Hawthorn."

"Anakin, _please-"_

"No, no, no, I have seventy years of teasing to make up for-"

"We weren't even _awake!"_

"Teagan, did you get laid while I was in hibernation?" 

She doesn't need an answer. The blush that goes from his cheeks to his ears and down his neck speaks volumes. She whoops with joy, slamming her hand down on the table, even as other patrons look at her. She drags her brother in for a hug across the table, nearly knocking over their glasses. "I am so _proud of you!_ "

"Anakin, stoooooooooop," he tries to shove her away, but she's always been stronger. And besides, it's not like he's actually shoving her away. For all of his protesting, he missed her and she knows it. 

"No, this is important. I have to throw a party."

"I change my mind," he groans. "You go back into hibernation right now."

She pays him absolutely zero mind. "Is there gonna be a wedding? Can I catch the bouquet?"

"Anakin Rosemary Hawthorn, I swear to fuck-" He's even redder now as he tries to push her away.

_Oh, this is even better._

"Oh Law, you didn't just get laid, you fell in **love.** " Her grin is somehow wider, but inside, she is dancing with joy. For all that her little brother opened himself up to the world, he hadn't been very successful in this department. When she'd made a pros and cons list about why they should come to Halcyon, it wasn't that she'd put down 'Teagan won't die alone' on the pros list...but she'd definitely written down 'greater social connections'.

 _"An-niiiiiie."_ For all his whinging, he looks absolutely besotted.

 _"_ Teagan _,_ that's amazing." Her voice goes soft now. "I have to meet him. Right now."

He frowns. "Anakin, just because I got thrown out of stasis doesn't mean you have to."

"No, no, no, this is important," she stands up, the chair shoving back with the movement. "Where is he? I have to meet my future brother-in-law so I can threaten to break his legs if he hurts you."

" **ANAKIN!"**

The bartender laughs from behind the counter. "You'll be looking for the vicar then, Miss." 

She whirls around, eyebrows raised. "Come again?" 

(She doesn't need to look behind her to know that Teagan looks positively betrayed.)

"Vicar Maximillian deSoto," the bartender smiles. "You'll find him by the medical area, giving counsel. Older guy, doesn't wear the robes but you will definitely know him when you hear him."

Her little brother. Shacked up with a vicar? This she _has to see._ "Thank you very much. If I had credits, I'd tip you."

"I'll take an IOU. On the opposite side of camp. Big red cross by the door."

Luckily, Teagan is smart enough to know when he's lost. He walks with her out the door, face in his hand. Not quite smart enough to duck before he smacks his head into the doorframe, but it's the thought that counts. She walks with him, head high, the faint wind tossing the hair from her bun, sunlight warming her skin just enough to tell her that she's awake. She's here. She's in Halcyon with her little brother, they don't have to work for a corporation, and they're going to make a new life here. A good one. And she gets to meet the man that possibly swept her brother off his feet. Or did he do the sweeping? She has to ask.

They step into the medical tent and Teagan doesn't even need to point. In any room, it's easy to find the helpers, and the man sitting by a cot, clasping a woman's hand and murmuring comforting words to her, is definitely a helper. She catches his profile - rugged expression, greying hair with a hint of brown to it, broad shoulders, and kind, intelligent eyes. What a man like that is doing with her brother, she has no idea, but far be it for her to push someone away from Teagan. Especially when Teagan looks at him like the man hung the moon.

The two of them wait in quiet by the door until the woman drifts off to sleep and the vicar stands. Anakin doesn't wait for an introduction before she introduces herself in her own abrupt way. "So you're the man who kept my brother alive long enough to steal his heart."

Vicar Max turns to look at her as Teagan groans, face going right back into his hand. "Annie, you honestly don't have to do this."

Her grin is near monstrous. "No, no, I have to. Sisterly duties. You know this." 

The vicar laughs. "I did not have siblings myself, but I am told that this is a usual part of the roles they play in each other's lives." He has a nice voice, low and rough, without the prim tightness that she normally expects from preachers. "The infamous Anakin, I assume?"

"Good things, I hope." She has a feeling that Teagan definitely told embarrassing stories about her. Whatever he did to make himself feel less lonely.

"Of course," his expression is fond as he steps forward, offering a hand for her to shake. "Maximillian deSoto."

"Anakin Hawthorn." She shakes his hand, offering a firm grip through the hibernation gloves. 

"I presume this is the shovel talk?"

"You presume correctly." Her grin shifts to a slightly more reasonable expression. "Buy me a drink and we'll talk?"

Teagan shakes his head. "No, no, I am not leaving you two alone together."

"Look at that, you are smart," Anakin pokes his shoulder with a smile. "You'll have to get used to my shenanigans all over again."

He frowns at her. "You think I stopped?"

Max sighs. "You know what 'shenanigans' means and not 'indentured servitude'?" From anyone else, those words would have come with pity, or false compassion for a simple man, or with the hardness of an insult, but not from Max. Curiously, Max looks at Teagan with a deep and utter fondness, as though Teagan's low IQ is simply part of his charm. Or perhaps part of his draw.

_Now I definitely have to get him for drinks._

"Mr. Hawthorn, Mr. Hawthorn!" A guard's head pops into the tent. "You gotta come quick. Miss Nyoka and Mr. Millstone are holding off some primals, they need help!"

"I'm coming!" Just like that, Teagan's face shifts to a firm, intense expression. She recognizes it - the face he got before jumping into a fight, or when he loaded his gun to deal with gophers. As he draws his assault rifle, she knows what's coming. "Max, I'll be alright. You two stay back."

Just like that, he runs off. Anakin watches him go, worry rising in her chest, and Max pats her shoulder. "Your brother has dealt with a great deal here. Primals will be no different. Come, you wanted to interrogate me on my worthiness as your brother's paramour?"

A little bit of the tension bleeds off with the reassurance, and she smiles a little. "You do have a brain in your head."

"Naturally. I simply restrain my language a bit for when I speak to your brother. As lovely as that confused expression of his can be, I do not enjoy making him uncomfortable."

They step out of the tent together, walking back towards the cantina, and Anakin stretches her arms over her head as they walk. There is the sound of gunfire in the distance, but she does her best to ignore it. "I'm glad. Brains ain't exactly his strong suit and a lot of people have taken advantage of that in the past. If you turn out to be one of them, that is going to be a mighty big problem. He's a grown man and can take care of himself, but he's my little brother."

"I understand," Max replies. His hands rest easily at his side, and she notices that they are ready to grab the shotgun that hangs at his hip. Capable. "Your brother has been nothing but good to me in the time that I have known him. Perhaps more than he should. The last thing I want to do is hurt him. I did so once by lying to him about my intentions and he forgave me, and I refuse to do so again."

Oh, she wants the details on that. "Good. I appreciate that, Max."

The door opens for the cantina, and they take a seat at the same table she'd sat at with Teagan. The Zero Gee brews slide over to them easily, and Max drinks at the same pace she does.

"You are more than just a vicar, aren't you?"

"Get me drunk enough, Miss Hawthorn, and I'll gladly tell you," his smile is far more restrained than Teagan's, but it is there. "I am a man of many desires and talents."

The opening is there. She has to take it. She would be a terrible sister, a terrible excuse for a person, if she didn't. "Like a desire for beautiful, strong idiots?" 

Max's cheeks flare red, his eyes sharpening at her with a retort, and she raises her hands in supplication immediately. "That works well for my brother if you do," she says soothingly and she offers the man a bone while she adds, "and it means we would have something in common."

He does not respond for a moment, breathing a little harder as he reins in the temper she can see behind his eyes, his gaze raking her over. Judging her words for truth. Finally, he takes a swig of his drink and replies, "There is an...odd allure to that kind of man, isn't it?"

She grins. "I _know._ It feels like a lot of men I've encountered, or at least the ones I've been attracted to, put on a performance to try and bring in a potential partner. There's that pretending to be smart, talking themselves up, finding clever ways to hide their flaws and make their mediocre qualities look like everything you want." She knows that she sounds bitter as she takes another drink, but she doesn't care, carrying on. "There's something to be said about men who just are and don't perform. They don't try to fit in. They're just their authentic selves in this non-toxic way."

Anakin has had this argument many times with people who have criticized her taste in men. It's true, though - as much as she is attracted to beautiful hunky men, she _likes_ men who don't try to act like men. It's a break from the battle she's had to have trying to earn respect, to show herself as an equal, more than eye candy on someone's arm. It's mostly been for flings, for moments in time, but it's happened enough times that it's becoming a preference. 

Max doesn't criticize. In fact, the whole time she speaks, he nods along approvingly. When she finishes, he replies, "We most definitely have something in common, Miss Hawthorn. I would go on myself, but I might start going on about your brother."

She grins. "No, please, please tell me what you like about my brother. I have embarrassing stories about him to offer in return."

And so it goes. They banter and tell stories until the gunfire outside stops, and within a few moments, the door opens. Ahead marches a woman with bright pink hair, blue blood-spattered clothes, and a machine gun that she leaves in a designated spot by the door. "Barkeep, a celebratory drink please!"

Max smiles. "That would be Nyoka."

"I like her already."

Teagan walks behind her, spattered with the same blue blood, and flanking him...is a ridiculously cute man with messy black hair and dark eyes. Who drops off his own grenade launcher by the door. Who stands with a confidence that doesn't look pretend. Who smiles up at her brother and goes, "Hey boss, you think we could manage to tame one of those things? I'd love to ride one into a fight with any more of those corporate lackeys."

Anakin's heart skips a beat.

**Oh _no. He's an idiot._**

Maximillian deSoto looks at her stunned expression and grins, sipping his Zero Gee. "I question your taste, but we most _definitely_ have something in common."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Nuh-uh. No one said anything about the boss's sister being hot._
> 
> Felix gets his first look at Anakin Hawthorn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have stepped into the headcanon that Felix has ADHD. I will say that that is _not_ the reason I am calling him a moron in this fic. That's just based on how he is.
> 
> Thanks to the Outer Worlds Chaos group chat for the help :)

This is the sort of thing that Felix had signed on for: keeping people safe when the Board couldn't, doing more than just moving boxes around, getting to make a difference, and have a good time while doing it. As he walks back with Teagan and Nyoka, he tells them just that. Teagan smiles at the description, holstering his rifle on his back as they walk back to the cantina, and replies, "Glad to hear you're having a good time. We shook everything up real good, now we gotta help it settle."

"Speaking of which, Captain," Nyoka turns to him. "How's your sister? I heard she was waking up today."

Right. Teagan had been buzzing like a mantiswarm since they had gotten a safe place to revive the Hope colonists and set up the chemicals to do so. He'd mentioned his sister on the Hope a little over their mission, but he'd said that talking about her when she wasn't there felt wrong. Now that she was waking up quite soon, though, he'd done nothing but sing his sister's praises. She sounded like quite the woman - clever, bold, stubborn, able to find a crack in any barrier or a niche to make their own. She and Teagan had fought tooth and nail to stay alive when they had lost their family and the corporations had taken everything away from them. They'd fought until they had no other choice but to come here. Felix thought that was goddamn amazing - the Hawthorns had been sticking it to the Board long before they ever came to Halcyon - so he was excited to meet her.

He asks, "Yeah, she up yet?"

"She's awake," Teagan replies cheerfully, his step quickening a bit with the thought. Like he was trying to run back to make sure she was still there. "She's apparently giving Max the shovel talk."

Nyoka grins. "Sisterly duties, I reckon?"

"I almost regret waking her up. She's gonna embarrass me."

Felix chimes in, "I dunno much about siblings, boss, but that sounds a lot like how siblings are."

"I can't wait to meet her. From what you said, she sounds like a hoot and a half." Nyoka looks just as eager as Felix feels, but not as much as Teagan looks.

The captain walks up to the cantina, presses the door open, and replies, "You'll find out soon enough."

They deposit the large guns by the door, as they are used to, and Nyoka strides over to the bar to get a drink. As Teagan rolls his shoulders to stretch out the fight, Felix asks, "Hey boss, you think we could manage to tame one of those things? I'd love to ride one into a fight with any more of those corporate lackeys."

Teagan laughs and nods. "If we can figure out how, then absosurely. It'd be just as fun as riding a mantiqueen."

"Teagan, the last time you tried to ride a mantiqueen, you were bucked off into a rock wall." Max's familiar killjoy voice calls from a table, and Felix's head turns to follow it.

Teagan says something afterward, Felix thinks he does, but all of his faculties settle directly on the woman sitting at the table with Max. Who has her feet up on a nearby chair, a Zero Gee in her hand, and hibernation suit tubes hanging off it. 

_Oh no._

The boss had said many things about his sister. 

He had _never_ said that she was beautiful. 

It makes sense, of course. Teagan is an attractive man in his own lean, towering way. It makes sense, the kind of scientific sense that Felix could never quite wrap his head around, that his sister was bound to be just as attractive. But he'd never considered it. Not at all, and now here she is, sitting in front of him, staring him down with her warm brown eyes. Her hair is the same blond as Teagan's, tied up in a tight bun with a few strands hanging in her face. She's shorter, he thinks. Shorter and curvier, a smaller nose, wider lips, freckles across every inch of her face, not a scar in sight. But there is the same warmth in her eyes as her brother - just not as bright, like the sun through a curtain - and she smiles just like him. 

And oh does she smile, the stunned expression on her face giving way to a warm expression that makes his stomach flip.

_Oh **no.**_

"I don't know what a mantiqueen is, or what you two were fighting," probably-Anakin says, sounding like she's on the edge of laughter, "but I would love to hear about it."

"Annie, this is Felix," Teagan leads them over to the table, Felix following out of reflex more than anything as his brain continues on the loop of 'oh Law she's gorgeous, oh law she's gorgeous'. "Felix, this is my big sister, Anakin. Don't trust a thing she says about me."

"Aw, Teagan, you turning your friends against me already?" Anakin pouts at first, but it turns right back into a smile. "I wasn't gonna do nothing."

"That's what you always say, and then I hear people telling each other my baby stories." 

Anakin takes her feet off of the chair, pushes it over towards her brother with a careless shove, and sits up to look at Felix properly. She's shorter than him and she holds out her hand to shake. "Well, pleasure to meet you, Mr. Felix."

"Just Felix, ma'am," he manages to get the words together, taking the seat between her and Max. He gives her hand a shake, glad for a glove between them to keep him from getting too overwhelmed. "Felix Millstone."

"Well, Just Felix," Anakin teases back, before her voice goes a little more serious. "from what my brother tells me, it's been a wild ride out there, and I'm happy that there was someone out there to watch his back. He was always a trouble magnet back home and I'm sure it's been just the same here."

"You have no idea, ma'am."

"Please, just Anakin. Ma'am makes me sound like our mama and I am nowhere near that point yet."

Teagan snorts. "Thank Law for that."

"Oi!" She gently slaps him on the arm. "Rude!"

"Sorry." He beams at her with his signature please-don't-yell-at-me smile that he uses on people who catch him stealing, and Anakin sighs, shaking her head. "I can't wait to introduce you to everyone."

On cue, Nyoka drags a chair over and slides in beside Anakin, putting an arm around her. "So you're the infamous Anakin."

"Somehow, you are not the first person to say that to me today," Anakin's smile is warm and polite as she turns to Nyoka. "But yes, I am."

Ellie and Parvati make their way in shortly after, and Felix finds that he can barely get a word in. Everyone has questions for Anakin, wanting to know more about her, telling her stories about the antics her brother got into (her eyebrows climb higher and higher with some stories, she gives Teagan glares when the stories get reckless, and she laughs with delight at the funny stories), finding ways to drag her headfirst into this strange little found family that they have made. Felix gets swept up in the wave of words, latching onto different people's voices. His fingers tap the rhythm of the Rizzo's jingle onto his thigh over and over, the repetition helping him stay anchored in the conversation.

He doesn't add much to it, anyway. He knows that everyone around the table can tell stories far better than he could. He got distracted with the small details, winding up on a tangent that is entirely unrelated to the story in question. Never mind conversation topics either. Everyone around the table - except Teagan - is far better with their words than he is, and they can carry on long topics about just about anything. Felix knows tossball, aetherwave dramas, and anti-Board politics and he can talk about them forever, whether someone asked him about them or not. Parvati is usually his go-to for serials, and Max for tossball, but the others tend to zone out when he starts talking. It hurts when they don't pay attention, but he gets it. Not everyone likes what he likes, and it's a lot to put up with.

Then Anakin's eyes settle on him and he drags himself out of his head to hear her say, "How did you join the crew, Felix?"

"Interviewed for it," Felix responds proudly. "Walked right up to his ship and asked."

Teagan smiles. "He wrote down notes on his hand for it. His qualific-quali..." he frowns a little, losing the word.

"Qualifications," Max prompts gently.

"Right," Teagan's smile popped back on his face. "Qualifications included 'get along with anyone who is not of the jackass persuasion.'"

The table laughs as Felix frowns a little. "What? I don't like jackasses. Sometimes they deserve boots to the chest."

"Amen." Anakin's smile makes Felix's stomach flip again. "I take you've kicked a lot of jackasses."

"And hit them with tossball sticks. They've _all_ deserved it," he says firmly.

"Even the raptidons?" Nyoka half-smiles when she says it.

He grins. "Especially the raptidons."

Anakin snorts into her drink, her smile growing wider. "Please tell me you didn't dropkick acid-spitting monsters in the chest."

Teagan pipes up, "He did it to a mantiqueen once."

"I still have no idea what a mantiqueen is."

Nyoka shows her a schematic on her datapad. Anakin chokes on her drink and stares at Felix. "You. Kicked it. In the chest."

"Well, yeah. Tried to bite boss's head off. I had to do something!"

He doesn't know what her expression means, but she's looking at him like he's seen Max look at Teagan, although the vicar usually mutters something along the lines of _I can't believe I'm attracted to you, you dumbass_ when he does.

...Wait. What?

* * *

Eventually, everyone is a lovely shade of buzzed or farther. Anakin switched to water after her third Zero Gee, saying something about alcohol not being the best idea immediately after waking up from hibernation. She does change out of the hibernation suit, though, saying something about it being too thick for this, and gets a set of worker clothes from the bartender. She changes in the back, not stripping out of armor like Teagan does, and comes back with the suit over her arm. Like this, her curves are so much more visible, the muscles in her arms, and _oh, she's so **pretty.**_

Nyoka is passed out on the floor, Ellie carries a tipsy giggling Parvati back to the ship to call her girlfriend, and Teagan and Max stand up together, saying something that really means they are going off to do things that Felix really doesn't want to think about - although Anakin grins and yells something about her brother getting some.

"Anakin, I am sure we will get along, but you do not belong in our sex life," Max says firmly.

"I am so happy not to be in it. But I'm glad you two are happy. Just...never yell me about it."

Teagan's drunk grin gets wider as he leans towards his sister. "Sometimes, when he gets excited, he bites my-"

" _Teagan Garrett Hawthorn, what did I just say?"_ Anakin half-snarls. Felix can't help a snicker as Teagan guffaws at his sister, and she shakes her head in amused annoyance. "Damn you."

Teagan mimes throwing a ball into the air and swinging a tossball stick. "And one point to me. Body-goal, I think."

Anakin frowns slightly. "Did they invent a new sport while I was asleep?"

"Yeah!" Teagan brightens. "It's called tossball, and you're sitting with the only two people I know who can explain how it's played."

"Well," Max interjects, "I do enjoy tossball a great deal, but if you want to know how it's played, Felix here has quite the passion for it."

Felix grins. "Don't I ever."

Anakin turns to him, resting her chin on her hand. "Well, I'll get plenty of stories later, but now I'm curious. Tell me about tossball, Felix."

...those are the best five words Felix has ever heard in his life. If he can talk about anything, he can talk about tossball. He immediately launches into the teams first, because if she has to start off with anything, she has to know that he's a Rizzo's Rangers man. "You better not root for any other team," he cautions, smiling as he does so. "They're not the best, but they're _my team._ "

She chuckles, "I don't know any others, but I do love a good underdog. Rangers all the way then."

...okay, _those_ might be the contenders for the best five words she's ever said to him.

Then he goes into the general feel of the game, the bloodthirstiness and the drama, and why he loves it so much. The rules follow afterward, of course. He breaks down players, zones, passing patterns, unsportsmanlike rules. The whole time, Anakin only interrupts him to ask questions of clarification, and when he gets to the rules, she takes a datapad from Nyoka and starts writing down the rules. Every single one. Even the offside and holiday rules, and when she asks about them, it's not because she didn't hear him. It's just so she gets it. 

By the time they're getting to the best games and players, the hallmarks of the game, Felix realizes that Max, Teagan, and Nyoka are gone. It's just the two of them, next to each other, hunched over the datapad as he draws on a picture of the field to demonstrate. The cantina's mostly emptied out, apart from the drunks. He has no idea how long he's been talking. 

Law, _how long has he been talking?_

He stops mid-sentence and feels his shoulders tighten up. Anakin turns to look at him and frowns a little. "Hey, what is it?" She asks, tilting her head to look at him. 

She's right there. He can see her eyelashes, long and thick, and how they rest against her freckled skin. She's so pretty. And she's so nice to have listened to him this whole time.

"You just woke up and you're probably just listening to be nice," he says quickly, rising to his feet. His fingers tap out the jingle on the table, trying to slow himself from spiraling until he gets out of the cantina. "I'm sorry, I was talking too much, I'm sor-"

_" **Felix."**_

It's not a yell. Not even a raised voice. Anakin's voice is soft, soothing, and her hand covers his own. She doesn't touch his fingers, not stopping him from tapping.

He can't look at her. He can't. Not when she's going to let him down gently, tell him that he wasn't good enough to impress her, that he was an idiot to try-

"Felix. You weren't talking too much. I like listening to you."

"...what?" Felix turns slowly to look at her, not quite believing what he's hearing. Her eyes are soft, her hand still resting on his, and as much as his anxious brain searches her face...she doesn't look annoyed. Or tired. Or bored. 

"You're passionate about tossball. I'm not sure I fully understand all the rules - I think I'm getting the 3rd and 15th backs mixed up somehow, and the Saturday zones look like Fridays to me - but I like hearing you talk about it," she smiles and when did she get dimples, that isn't fair, no, _focus,_ "Please don't worry that I'm getting bored. Hearing what people love is _never_ boring to me. Unless it's about layers of bureaucratic red tape, which, hooboy, that never is."

The laugh comes out of him feels half-forced, but..."you mean it?"

"Really," she tells him, firm but gentle.

Now, he just laughs in relief. "Wow. I...I don't think anyone's say that to me before. In those words."

"Then they're fucking idiots."

He takes his seat with a smile, the Rizzo's jingle tapping out slower as his heartrate slows down. "Thanks."

"My pleasure," she replies. "Now, what's this about that Tatum bastard getting 59 consecutive injuries?"

It takes him halfway through the description of the last Hammersmith game to realize that she never let go of his hand.

It takes less than a second for him to realize that he likes it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confident leap forward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand it's looking like this isn't going to be three chapters like I thought. Oh well. I'll keep going :)

The crew of the Unreliable stay on Edgewater for a couple of days. There are still plenty of odd jobs to run around the colony, especially if they want to become self-sufficient and to survive the wilderness slowly creeping up on their borders, so Teagan has plenty to do. However, it's not the reason that they stay. Anakin is fairly certain that Edgewater could take care of itself with only a little bit of handholding. Adelaide MacDevitt is quite the woman - and apparently part of the reason why Teagan fought the Board so hard - and takes care of her city with all the love and care of a parent nurturing a prodigal son. She certainly doesn't enjoy Teagan's help, and from what Anakin has heard, that is completely understandable. Hell, Adelaide is wary of Anakin the moment she finds out exactly who Anakin is related to, but Anakin's gardening experience is enough to win her some respect. And a better place in the colony.

No, Teagan stays because of Anakin. When he's not on a mission of some time, Teagan is beside her: telling her stories, helping her tinker and mod out a gun to keep herself safe, introducing her to people around Edgewater, and pulling all the usual pranks he used to pull on her. She had no idea what the Halcyon equivalent of whipping cream is, but he found some somewhere and gladly introduced a palmful of it to her face. She finds it a little stifling at first - as far as she is concerned, she'd just seen him and this all gives her flashbacks to them as his child self clinging onto her skirt. 

Parvati brings her up to speed on exactly how long Teagan has been awake. How his success at Dr. Welles' mission was the only thing that might have woken Anakin up. How terrified he was that he was going to fail, ruin something, or die and that Anakin would have stayed frozen forever. How he'd started sobbing when Dr. Welles assured him that as soon as the main scientists were revived to get Halcyon going again, his sister would be first in line.

It's still stifling, of course, but Anakin makes an effort to put up with it and reassure Teagan that things were going to be alright. They tell stories, they practise on the shooting range (how the _fuck does he manage to hit every bullseye, that's cheating, I will knock you out with your own damn rifle Teagan)_ , they wrestle in the mud one day when he teases her over her liking of Felix and she wins because she's always been the stronger one, and she does everything that she can to remind her brother that he has a sister. It seems to help. The worry lines on her brother's forehead start to soften, the weight on his shoulders lightens just a little, and when he talks to her, it sounds less and less like he's worried she'll disappear into thin air.

After three days, he finds her when she's working at the cannery garden. He settles on a ladder beside her, legs dangling through the rungs, arms gripping tightly to the bar above him so that he doesn't fall off. She looks up at him for a moment before returning to her weeding. "That doesn't look stable."

"It's perfectly stable."

"What happens if you lose your grip at _all?_ "

Teagan goes silent and Anakin smiles to herself. "Exactly."

"Stop smirking."

"Never."

Teagan laughs brightly, his boots tapping against the metal rungs of the ladder. "Anyway, I came to talk to you."

"About what?" 

Teagan is quiet for a moment before speaking, his voice soft, "We got a job gathering supplies from the abandoned camp at Scylla, and then we're doing a run for Monarch Stellar Industries."

Anakin stops weeding, rocking back on her heels, and she looks up at her brother. He's got a very familiar expression on his face, the one that he got when he didn't want to leave a friend playing alone but had just heard the call for snack time. He wants to go - he wants to see the stars and explore and kick ass without the panic of having to save the Hope - but he doesn't want to leave his big sister behind. And he knows that she just got a job. She sighs, putting down her shovel and resting her hands on her knees. "About time. Been wondering when you were going to go back to the stars you love so much," Her smile is fond. "Hope I'm not the one tying you down."

"It's not that!" He exclaims, nearly falling off the ladder as he gestures frantically. 

"For the love of - get off the fucking ladder," Anakin stands to her feet and walks over, wrapping her arms around his middle. After a few minutes of tug-of-war, Teagan finally lets go. They stumble backwards, but neither of them fall and Teagan stands. "Teag. You dumbass. I know you missed me, and I'm not gonna suddenly poof back to Earth if you take your eyes off me."

She hasn't let go of him quite yet, but he sags into her arms. "I know, I know. Doesn't stop me from worrying."

"Worrying means you suffer twice," she turns him around so she can give him a hug. "When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning."

"Not now?"

Teagan gives her a squeeze and steps back from the hug. His eyebrows wiggle as he says, "Couple of us wanted another night."

"Stop that, you look ridiculous." She has a feeling she knows exactly who he means, and her cheeks go pink.

"What are you talking about? This is my serious face," Teagan's eyebrows wiggle even more absurdly, grinning the whole time.

Anakin laughs. "I hope that's not the face you used in negotiations, or the people of Halcyon are dumber than I thought."

"Nah, they're real smart," he slides his hands into his pockets. "So..."

"So?" 

His eyebrows wiggle again.

"Teagan, I will rip the eyebrows off of your face if you do that again."

His eyebrows stop moving, but he still smiles. "Come on, Annie, you're the smart one, you can work it out."

"And here I thought this place would be peaceful," she hedges.

He laughs. "Nah, we just made it wholesome."

Her eyebrows shoot up. "Teagan Hawthorn, did you just make a pun?"

"What are you talking about?" Teagan frowns, brows furrowing. "What did I say?"

She waves her hand. "Nevermind. But...he wants to see me?"

Teagan looks delighted. "Yeah. Before we go. Anywhere I should tell him to go?"

Of all the things that Anakin had been hoping for when they came to Halcyon, she had not expected potential romance, but here they were. She hadn't gotten to spend any more alone time with Felix since Teagan had arrived - her brother is too much of a limpet for that - and she will gladly admit to herself that she had hoped to get another moment with him before the Unreliable departed. This is a good chance. She wants to talk to him again, hear the passion in his voice and see him smile at her when she encourages him to talk. 

She crosses her arms over her chest, her mouth twitching up in a small smile. "There's an old refab crate by the junkyard with a ladder up the side, facing the community centre. I'll be on it."

Teagan's head tips, thinking about her directions, and gets out the map on his wireless pad. Anakin pulls off her gardening gloves and marks it with a flag. With that, Teagan beams. "I'll tell him."

He skips out of the cannery garden, excited as anything, and Anakin sighs. "Matchmaking idiot," she mutters fondly as she tugs her gloves off and kneels back down to weed. 

...she smiles and hums to herself the whole time, though.

* * *

It's an odd spot to meet a potential boyfriend, of course, but there is a very good reason for it. When Anakin had walked out of the cantina with Felix that first night, she'd looked up at the sky and gone absolutely speechless. The sky above Earth-2 is breathtaking, even during the day, but at night...it is magical. It's the clearest reminder of all that she's not on Earth anymore. She found the refab crate while walking around that night, head tilted up to stare at the sky, and made it her stargazing spot. If she looks away from Edgewater, up the hill towards the buildings, it's the perfect view.

She's lying on her back, overshirt loosened at the collar and cuffs, hair down, jacket draped over her legs like a blanket, when she hears someone climb up the ladder. Her head lolls over to the side slowly to watch and she smiles when she sees Felix's messy mop of hair pop up over the edge. He's climbing awkwardly like he's doing it one-handed. There's a thump as he sets it on the metal and jumps up. "Howdy, Anakin," he says with a grin. His cheeks are a little pink with effort and he slides over beside her. 

"Howdy, Felix," she smiles back at him. "Found me okay?"

"Yeah, boss had it marked on a map and everything," Felix replies. He's sitting cross-legged beside her, pulling the package on his lap. "Cool spot."

Anakin shifts back onto her elbows, lifting herself up, and turns to look at him. Felix is watching her, his eyes a little wide with wonder, and her cheeks go a little pink from it. Is this how Max feels when Teagan stares at him with all the love that her idiot brother has in his body? Is that what Felix is looking at her with? She has no idea, but it feels...amazing. "Yeah," she replies softly, "Found it pretty early on. Got a fantastic view of the sky."

Felix's head tilts up to look and his eyebrows rise. "Wow..." he murmurs. "You know, I've been here so many times with the boss, but I never really look up. It looks so different from what I saw on Groundbreaker."

"That's the space station, right?" 

"Yeah. Born there, grew up on it. Until the boss picked me up, that's all I've ever known," Felix smiles a little bit. "Sky looks nothing like this."

"Nothing like this on Earth either," Anakin sighs, "It helps remind me that I'm here. That I'm not just dreaming."

"Still can't believe I'm looking at it." His voice is full of wonder.

"Me too." Hers is too.

Of all the similarities to have between each other, shared disbelief of how their lives have turned is a pretty good one. They sit in quiet for a few moments, staring up at the stars, and finally, she has to ask. Anakin leans on one elbow and taps the bundle with a finger. "What's the goods?"

"Oh yeah!" Felix undoes the bundle, setting it between them. It's wrapped up in an old shirt, and there's some bottles and packages in it. "Raided the fridge and my own stash. You haven't eaten any of the most amazing things out here?"

"Do tell?" Anakin sits up properly, crossing her legs under her. Everything in it is a bright artificial colour, most of them bright purple, and there's a very familiar label across of them. "Like your team?"

"Absolutely! Rizzo's makes some of the best food in the colony! Nyoka says it'll make your teeth rot and your stomach acid turn purple, but she's just saying that."

Anakin does everything that she can to hide a wince. That...is not promising. Rizzo's definitely originated on Earth, and by the time that they left, neither Teagan or Rose could afford anything artificial or sweet. She has to admit that she's curious what kind of sweets have come out of this colony. And what sweets actually taste like. "Well, I'll have to see for myself then," she replies, taking one of the bottles. "Is there an order to have them?"

"Well, I brought some Purpleberry Wine for us to have and some Spectrum Vodka in case you don't like it. Ellie said I should bring a back-up just in case," Felix picks up a purple bottle and a bright red bottle, showing them off, and then sets them back down. "And I've got some Purpleberry Munch, some Retro Rockets, and Purpleberry Lunch."

"That is a lot of purpleberry," Anakin chuckles. "Favourite flavour?"

"It's the flavour for most of what Rizzo makes," Felix tears open one of the packets of Munch. "Sorry, I couldn't find any cups."

"I trust that you have no diseases that I could catch," Anakin smiles, picking up the bottle of wine and uncorking it. "And I am fairly certain that I don't have any from Earth."

Felix laughs. "That'd be a hell of a story. Died by ancient Earth disease. And you start a pandemic! That'd be a fantastic serial. Wonder who would play us."

"No idea, I still haven't seen any of the ones out here," Anakin raises the bottle of wine in a toast and has a sip. It doesn't make her gag on first taste - it's a sweet wine, almost like sangria or dessert wine. Actually, it's good. She licks her lips and hums, passing the bottle back over to him. "Yum. I could get so drunk off of this."

Felix looks both excited that she likes the wine and horrified that she hasn't seen anything, taking the bottle back. "Not a single serial?"

"I've been awake for two days, Felix," she chuckles. "Maybe you can send me some recommendations when you're off? I'll see if I can get a hold of any of them. And some of the championship games you were telling me about. The Chosen/Rangers game last year sounds like I need to see it."

Felix freezes mid-sip and looks at her with wide eyes, lowering the bottle. "You remembered?"

...okay, who had made Felix feel like he had nothing good to say, that he was boring, or that the things he loved weren't worth remembering, because she wanted to sucker-punch them in the mouth? Anakin reaches over and rests her hand on his knee, making sure to avoid the always present tapping fingers. "Of course I remember. It was a lot of information at once, but that sounded like an amazing game. Especially the goals in the last half."

Now Felix is really looking at her like she's the best thing he's ever known, frozen with the bottle in hand. The finger rhythm speeds up just a little, background sound as he processes what she's just said. Her cheeks go pinker the more he stares and she ducks her head a little, trying to get herself together. The bottle moves out of her field of vision as he starts drinking, presumably to get himself together. Anakin takes the open packet of Purpleberry Munch and pours some into her hand. It looks like trail mix, made from dried berries, chocolate chips, nuts, and flakes of some kind.

_What the hell. I've eaten stranger._

She tips the handful into her mouth, starting to chew. A few things become apparent: first, that purpleberries are almost obscenely sweet, even when in berry form; second, that these are not chocolate chips or nuts as she remembers them; third, the flakes taste like _nothing, they taste like if you turned cardboard into cereal;_ and last...that it's not terrible. Her face goes on a journey as she tries to process whether or not she likes them, and Felix watches her intently.

"Well?"

She swallows it down and decides to sit promptly in the middle. "It's...different than anything I've had before."

Felix grins. "That's awesome. It's fantastic. Teagan always gives me the ones he finds on missions. All the Rizzo's stuff, actually."

Of course he would. "He's good like that. He's always been considerate like that, and helping everyone around him." Anakin chuckles softly. "He's a good man."

Felix nods. "Been helping everyone around him. And not just with the fighting corporate oppression thing. Everything." The wine bottle is passed back over and Anakin swallows some down. "Got lots more ahead of us."

Anakin nods. "Yeah. Make sure to tell me all about it when you come back."

Felix looks back up at the sky. "You gonna be watching tossball while we're gone?"

"Absolutely," Anakin hands back the bottle of wine and swallows back the tight ball in her throat, _and this is the opportunity, this is your opportunity to take your damn shot, come **on,**_ "and maybe when you come back, we can watch one together?"

Of everything she has said to him, that is not what makes him freeze. His fingers tap steadily in their familiar, comforting rhythm, and Felix turns to look at him. His eyes sparkle and a smile spreads across his face. "Yeah, I'd like that lots. You won't mind if I yell at the screen?"

"Not at all."

The stars shine down above them, the faint clouds rolling above them, the rings of Earth-2 glowing their familiar warm glow. Anakin feels warm inside as well, and that isn't just the purpleberry wine talking.

At the very least...she's just made a friend.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't have siblings. I am trying very hard to sound like I know what that's like when it confuses the hell out of me.


End file.
